Sense raises seed investment round through Angels in MedCity

Life sciences investment

8th June

Sense Biodetection Limited (Sense) has today announced that after pitching at our 'Angels in MedCity' event in November '15 it now has completed a £508,000 oversubscribed seed investment round. The investment will allow Sense to continue to establish its technology portfolio and support the further development and clinical evaluation of its first products.

Sense is a molecular diagnostics company focused on improving healthcare decisions and processes by developing novel, user-centred tests in the fields of infections and oncology. The company is focussed on handheld tests to bring molecular diagnostics to the point-of-care, rather than complex instruments operated by trained users in central labs, which are the mainstay of the molecular diagnostics field. The company had previously raised £200k in grants from Innovate UK.

Sense CEO, Dr Harry Lamble, commented:
“We are delighted to receive the backing of such a strong syndicate of investors, and particularly, in Mercia, one of the UK’s fastest growing funds. This support for the company at a crucial early stage in its development, will be transformational in allowing us to build a successful business from the strong foundations we have in place”.

Peter Dines, Director and Head of Life Sciences at Mercia Fund Management, who will represent Mercia on the Sense board of directors, commented:
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to support Harry and his team with this innovative new venture and work alongside the management team to help build a successful new business in this exciting sector”.

MedCity CEO, Sarah Haywood, commented: “I’m delighted to see another innovative company grow and expand thanks to Angels in MedCity, which was created to unlock greater funding for promising, investment-ready companies and give early-stage investors the opportunity to access them. The UK life sciences sector punches well above its weight in science R&D, and ensuring companies like Sense can source funding to grow is crucial to our economy.”